Aug 15
16
Old Testament Reading: Ezekiel 34:22-31
“I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken. I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke, and deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them. They shall no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. And I will provide for them renowned plantations so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer suffer the reproach of the nations. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord God. And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God.” (Ezekiel 34:22–31, ESV)
New Testament Reading: John 10:22-30
“At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered them, ‘I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.’” (John 10:22–30, ESV)
Introduction
That Jesus was and is the eternal Son of God come in the flesh is something that all Christians believe. And that he came to deal with the problem of sin and death is also something that all Christians agree upon – he lived his life in full and perfect obedience to the law of God, and yet he died the death of a sinner in order to pay the price for sins – he atoned for sin – he appeased the wrath of God – he defeated sin and death for us. All true Christians believe these things.
But there exists is a significant disagreement over the question, who did Jesus come to save, exactly? Who did he come to rescue? Who’s sins did he come to die for?
Some see it this way: Jesus, the eternal Son of God, came to make salvation possible for all. He lived and died and rose again for all people. When he paid the price for sins, he paid for all sins – every sin that has ever been committed in the history of the world. When he bore the wrath of God, he stood in everyones place. But it is only those who choose to believe who benefit from the redemption accomplished by Christ for all people everywhere.
In this view, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirt had every person who has lived in mind when the Christ was sent to hang on that cross. Jesus took upon himself the sins of all people without exception, and paid for them in full, saying, “It is finished”. And now God, having accomplished salvation for all through the cross of Christ, applies the benefits of that salvation to the ones who choose to believe in the Son. This is how many Christians in our day picture salvation working.
But there is, as you know, another way of seeing things. There are others who believe that Jesus, the eternal Son of God, came to accomplish salvation for some. He did not merely make salvation possible. He actually accomplished it – he earned it, completed it, and finished it. And he did not do it for all – leaving it ultimately up to the individual to believe or disbelieve – he came to accomplish salvation for a particular people in order to give those particular people eternal life.
In this view God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirt had particular people in mind when the Christ was sent to hang on that cross. Jesus took upon himself the sins of those people, and paid for them in full, saying, “It is finished”. And now God, having accomplished salvation for them through the cross of Christ, is active in bringing those particular people to salvation through faith in Christ, by the proclamation of the gospel, and the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit.
This second view is our view.
I hold to this second view (what has come to be known as the Reformed position, or the Calvinistic position) because I believe it is what the scriptures clearly teach. I would not hold this view if unaided human reason were my final authority for truth. And I would not hold this view if my emotions were my final authority for truth. It is because the Holy Scriptures are my final authority for truth (and I believe that they abundantly clear on this point) that I am moved to view Christ’s atoning work in this way.
Jesus came in order to save those who are his. He came to save those who were given to him by the Father in eternity past. These were chosen, elected, predestined by God the Father and they were given to the Son so that he would save them by dying for their sins. They were chosen, mind you, not because of anything deserving in them – not because of any good or redeeming quality foreseen by God within them – but by pure unconditional, unmerited, undeserved grace. These are the ones that the Good Shepherd has laid down is his life for.
Truthfully, there are very many passages of scripture that we could point to to prove these things. But I really cannot think of a book in the Bible that presents these truths more consistently, more clearly, and more powerfully than the Gospel of John. And it here in chapter 10 that these truths are brought to the forefront.
The Gospel of John reveals that some people have been given to the Son by the Father from before creation.
First of all, notice how the Gospel of John reveals, time and again, that some people have been given to the Son by the Father from before creation.
This is most clear in the prayer of Jesus found in John 17.
Verses 1-3:
“When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:1–3, ESV)
In verse 6 Jesus says, “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.” (John 17:6, ESV)
In verse 9 Jesus says, “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.” (John 17:9, ESV)
This same truth – the truth that some have been given to the Son by the Father from before creation – is also clearly articulated here in John 10. Jesus uses the image of a sheepfold to communicate this truth to us. He is the Good Shepherd, and he is also the door of the sheep. The sheepfold contains many sheep – at first we are only told of one sheepfold which represents all of the people of Israel – later we are told of another sheepfold, representing all of the peoples of the earth. Both sheepfolds house sheep – some who belong to the Good Shepherd, and some who do not. Jesus the Good Shepherd knows his sheep and they know him. He calls them by name and they recognize his voice and follow him. All of this was clearly set forth in verses 1-21of chapter 10.
The teaching is clear. A distinction is made between sheep and sheep – some belong to the Good Shepherd and others do not. The sheep who belong to the Good Shepherd represent the elect. They represent those who were given to the Son by the Father in eternity past. These sheep represent the same people that Jesus would later pray for in his high priestly prayer, saying, “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.” (John 17:9, ESV)
This is the doctrine of unconditional election.
The Gospel of John reveals that those not given to the Son by the Father are unable to believe.
Secondly, notice how the Gospel of John reveals that those not given to the Son by the Father are unable to believe.
This truth is stated in a number of places in John, but we will limit our attention to the passage before us here in John 10:22-30, since it is at the heart of the text.
Notice that we have now experienced a change of scenery in John’s Gospel. From the beginning of chapter 7 all the way to 10:21 we hear about Jesus’ activities in and around the temple in Jerusalem during the Feast of Booths. Now we read in verse 22, “At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon.” (John 10:22–23, ESV)
The Feast of Dedication was not a feast instituted by God and recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures. It began in 167 B.C. The Syrian leader Antiochus Epiphanes had overrun Jerusalem. He had polluted the temple by setting up a pagan altar to displace the altar of Israel’s God. Israel suffered for a time under the oppression of Antiochus until many of the Jews began to revolt. They eventually developed the fine art of guerrilla warfare and grew strong enough to overthrow their oppressor. This all happened under the leadership of Judas Maccabaeus (Judas the Hammer). They eventually recaptured the temple and reconsecrated it to God on 25 Kislev (the lunar month that approximately coincides with December), 164 B.C. The people celebrated the rededication of the temple for eight days, and it was decreed that a similar eight-day Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah) should be held every year, beginning on 25 Kislev (cf. 1 Macc. 4:36–59; 2 Macc. 1:9, 18; 10:1–8).
Jesus was in Jerusalem for this feast and was walking in the colonnade of Solomon (also called Solomon’s Porch), which was a covered patio located to the east of the temple serving as boundary to the temple platform. Interestingly we hear of this place again in the book of Acts because the early Christians would gather there to preach the gospel. Peter and John would heal a man in this same location.
But it was here under the colonnade of Solomon that (verse 24) the “Jews gathered around [Jesus] and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.’” (John 10:24, ESV)
It is interesting that Jesus rarely, if ever, spoke before the religious leaders of the Jews in an explicate or direct way concerning his being the Christ – the Messiah of Israel. He spoke with the woman at the well directly, saying, “I who speak to you am he”(John 4:26, ESV), but his answers were always less direct – more elaborate and involved – when he spoke with the Jews in general, and especially with the religious leaders. The reason is simple. People had in their minds all kinds of expectations concerning what the Messiah would be like. If when asked, are you the Christ?, Jesus simply said, yes!, he would have been saying yes to all that was in their minds, and not necessarily the truth. So although he never said yes, in a direct or explicit way, he had already said yes dozens of times before in other ways.
They wanted a simple yes or no. But Jesus responds to them saying, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me…” (John 10:25, ESV) I’ve already told you, he says. I’ve told you in word, and I’ve shown you by my deeds. Jesus was always pointing to the miracles that the he preformed as proof that he was indeed the Christ. But they did not believe.
But I want you to notice something very significant. Jesus reveals here in verse 26 why it was that these men did not believe. He said to them, “you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.” (John 10:26, ESV) The Arminian, or the anti-Calvinist – whatever you want to call them – turns this statement on its head. They insist that a person is free to believe if he so choose; and that a person is made into one of Christ’s sheep because they choose to believe. But Jesus says exactly the opposite. You do not become a sheep of the Good Shepherd’s the moment that you believe. No, you believe because you are one of Christ’s sheep. Those who are not Christ’s sheep – not one of the elect – are not able to believe. Christ does not know them, and they do not know Christ They do not hear his voice. They do not follow his voice. Why? Because they were not among those given by the Father to the Son in eternity past. “You do not believe because you are not among my sheep”, Jesus says.
This is the doctrine of total depravity, or total inability.
The Gospel of John reveals that those given to the Son by the Father will certainly believe.
Thirdly, notice how the Gospel of John reveals that those given to the Son by the Father will certainly believe.
Listen to John 6:35:
“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.’” (John 6:35–37, ESV)
Notice the same teaching in 10:27 when Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” This is in contrast to what Jesus said to the non-believing Jews. They did not believe because they were not Christ’s sheep, but those who are Christ’s sheep hear the voice of the Good Shepherd; he knows them; and they follow him.
This is the doctrine of irresistible grace, or effectual calling.
The Gospel of John reveals that those given to the Son by the Father will never be lost.
Fourthly, notice how the Gospel of John reveals that those given to the Son by the Father will never be lost.
In verse 27 Jesus says,
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” (John 10:27–29, ESV)
I cannot think of a more clear statement in scripture concerning the security of the believer. There are other clear statements indeed, but this is rather powerful. The teaching is this: If a person has been set apart by the electing purposes of God Father, and that persons sins have been paid for by the death of the Son, and if that person has been brought to faith in the Son through the effectual calling of the Holy Spirit, then that person cannot be lost. He cannot be lost because he has been saved, not on the basis of something within himself, but by God. God has saved him through Christ and by the Spirit. Christ holds his sheep in his hand. More than that, the Father holds those who are his in his hand. Who could possibly snatch them away?
Christians struggle with this concept because they have seen some who profess to believe in Christ for a time and then walk away from Christ in the end. It can be difficult to know how to explain that phenomenon. The Biblical way to talk about that is to say that though they claimed to know Christ, they in fact never knew him. This is what John himself says in his epistle: “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.” (1 John 2:19, ESV)
What we see here in John10:27-29 is the doctrine of the preservation of the saints. Those who truly belong to Christ will persevere to the end. Better yet, they will be preserved until the end, being kept by the Father and the Son.
The Gospel of John reveals that those given to the Son by the Father are the ones for whom Christ died.
Fifthly, notice how the Gospel of John reveals that those given to the Son by the Father are the ones for whom Christ died.
Let us look back into chapter 10 for a moment. Jesus says in verse 11,
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11, ESV) Also look at verse 14: “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:14–15, ESV)
So for whom did Christ die, according to John? He died for his sheep. He died for the ones given to him by the Father. These are the ones that he laid his life down for. He payed for their sins and gives them eternal life.
Look also at 10:30. Jesus concluded this entire conversation with the unbelieving Jews by saying, “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30, ESV) We will look more closely at this well known and often quoted text next week as we pick up with verse 30 and move on. This verse is most often used as a proof that Jesus was divine. “I and the Father are one” is taken to mean, I am divine just as the Father is divine. Truthfully, I do not think that this is the most accurate understanding of Jesus words here. There are other texts in scripture – other texts in John – that clearly refer to Jesus’ deity. The context here seems to be more about the unity of purpose that the Son has with the Father. I’m not saying that this verse has nothing to do with Jesus deity. I’m only saying that the statement, “I and the Father are one” has more to do with the unity of purpose, or the unity of mission shared between the Father and Son. There will be more on that next week.
What I want you to see today is that Jesus claimed to be one with the Father. He was perfectly in sync with the Father. They were about the same purpose – the same mission. The Father decreed in eternity past to send the Son into the world to save the elect, and it was the elect that Jesus came to save. He knows his sheep and he calls his sheep. He died for his sheep in order to give his sheep eternal life. He gives them eternal life and he holds on to them. Jesus keeps his sheep by holding them in his hand. And the Father also holds them in his hand, the end result being that no one is able to snatch them away.
This oneness that exists between the Father and Son supports the doctrine of limited atonement.
Not only do the scriptures explicitly say that Jesus came to lay down his life for the sheep, they also say that there exists a unity between the Father and Son. The Father’s purposes are the Son’s purposes. The Father’s mission, is the Son’s mission. If the Father sent the Son into the world to save those whom he had given to the Son (the elect), then it should be no surprise to us that the Son came to lay down his life for them. He came to pay for their sins. He came to earn salvation for them. And is it they that he draws to himself by calling them by name. They are at the ones who follow the Good Shepherd because they are his, having been set apart from all eternity.
Application
Have you ever wondered why it is that God has chosen to reveal these difficult things to us in his word. He could have left it unstated. He could have relegated this to the realm of mystery. But he did not. He speaks plainly concerning these things in his word. Why?
The reason is that these truths, when rightly understood, have a significant impact upon the people of God. These truths transform.
First of all, these truths are the ground out which true humility springs. If I were to ask you, why are you in Christ? Why are you a part of his flock? Why is he your shepherd? The answer must ultimately be, because God has been gracious to me.
Secondly, these truths are the firm foundation of our assurance in Christ. If you Christ’s then you you will be Christ’s to the end because he holds on to you! This does not do away with the need for exhortation or effort. It is good for us to say to one another, hold on to Christ until the end! But we hold on to Christ – we strive after him, and labor in our obedience to him – knowing that he is the one who holds on to us!
Thirdly, these truths provide a firm footing that we might have confidence in evangelism. It is because of these truths that we are able to confidently proclaim, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, ESV) We offer the gospel freely to all who will hear knowing that the Good Shepherd will draw his sheep to himself in his time and in his way.
